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Speaker 1: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What's up, straight Fire, Fam,

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Speaker 1: it's your boy, Jason McIntyre, Straight Fire, Thursday, May six.

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Speaker 1: Hope everybody's having a splendid week. We have a bomb ass. Yes,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna get in a cuss word early in this

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Speaker 1: podcast interview with the one and only Ben Goliver. He

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Speaker 1: covers the NBA for the Washington Post, and more importantly,

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Speaker 1: he wrote a book that I think you're gonna like.

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Speaker 1: It's about life in the bubble. He covered the bubble

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Speaker 1: for the Washington Post. A lot of good stories. Yes

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Speaker 1: he was there, ren Rayjon Rondo's brother went at Russell Westbrook.

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Speaker 1: Yes he was there, and boy does he have stories.

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Speaker 1: I mean listen that you are really gonna like this

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Speaker 1: interview Ben Goliver. Smart guy. We also delve into his background.

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Speaker 1: I bet you didn't know there are some smart reporters

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Speaker 1: out there covering the b A with the Johns Hopkins

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Speaker 1: was a high school valedictorian. Yeah, we'll get to the

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Speaker 1: interview shortly. I just want to off the top real quick. No,

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Speaker 1: I'm not addressing to all the forty Niners fans tuning

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Speaker 1: in waiting to hear when I'm gonna address the bombing.

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Speaker 1: I mean, this is how crazy the forty Niners fans

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Speaker 1: are bombing me right now for my Trey Lance Mac

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Speaker 1: Jones take and Kyle Shanahan versus John Lynche in the

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Speaker 1: front office. Okay, my daughter made a friend a couple

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Speaker 1: of years ago in preschool and her dad is a

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Speaker 1: big forty Niners fan, and they live out here near us,

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Speaker 1: but their families are from Italy. So when the pandemic hit,

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Speaker 1: they decided, you know, we're getting out of here. They

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Speaker 1: went to Italy. After it cooled out in Italy, they

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Speaker 1: haven't come back. Okay, he's in Italy. I wake up

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Speaker 1: this morning, Hey Jason, what's up? And he says, you know,

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Speaker 1: I see his name on the text. Blah blah blah.

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Speaker 1: Hope you're well. We're in Italy. Hey, so about the

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Speaker 1: forty Niners what? And I'm I haven't talked to this guy,

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Speaker 1: I don't know a year and a half. And he

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Speaker 1: hears about forty Niners fans versus me and text me

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Speaker 1: to find out what's going on. So forty Niners fans,

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Speaker 1: you just gotta have to chill. I will address it

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Speaker 1: more tomorrow. Okay, that's what I'll do. I'll talk about

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Speaker 1: forty Niners and the Kyle Shanahan, Trey Lance mac Jones stuff,

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Speaker 1: and yes, the Michael Lombardi comments, the Todd mcshaye comments,

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Speaker 1: the Adam Schefter, the Ian rappaports. There's a lot. We'll

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Speaker 1: get into that tomorrow. But before Ben gallieray, I wanted

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Speaker 1: to address Aaron Rodgers. Guys, I think we're probably def

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Speaker 1: con too. Is that safe to say. I don't know

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Speaker 1: if it's de Con one yet, but two stories popped yesterday.

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Speaker 1: We're moderately interesting. Number one Brett Farve, who loves to

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Speaker 1: wedge his name just crowbar his name there into anything.

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Speaker 1: It's like, Brett Farve is the dude who's friends with you,

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Speaker 1: and you know, you and your boys roll up to

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Speaker 1: meet some girls at a bar, and he always finds

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Speaker 1: a way to just get up in the middle of

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Speaker 1: it and really try to be the center of attention.

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Speaker 1: That's what Brett Farve does. And he's like, oh, my

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Speaker 1: gut tells me are and Rogers is done with the Packers.

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Speaker 1: He's like, why what are you doing speaking? Go away,

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Speaker 1: Brett farm Nobody cares about your opinion just because you

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Speaker 1: played with the Packers forever. You think like we care.

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Speaker 1: You have no inside information none, he texted. Apparently, Farve

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Speaker 1: texted Rogers, so you're gonna end up here there, everywhere,

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Speaker 1: and Rogers like, yeah, that's not gonna happen. Um. I

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Speaker 1: think the bigger story is Brett, not Brett. Far Aaron

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Speaker 1: Rodgers is on text chains with teammates, no surprise there.

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Speaker 1: But he is apparently slandering Brian Gootkonst the GM Goodakoonst Gosh.

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Speaker 1: I keep put your in that name. It's bad, it's

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Speaker 1: it's rough, um. And he's calling him. Jerry Krauss a

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Speaker 1: k A, the architect of the nineties Bulls dynasty, the

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Speaker 1: second greatest dynasty in modern NBA history, second to the

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Speaker 1: Curry Duran Warriors, of course, and Jerry Krauss, of course,

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Speaker 1: was the object of scorn from Michael Jordan's and Phil

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Speaker 1: Jackson endlessly. I mean they they would not stop the

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Speaker 1: bombing when the Bulls were winning titles. They just hated Krause.

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Speaker 1: A lot of it had to do with some of

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Speaker 1: the Krouse moves. He traded away Charles Oakley, who was

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Speaker 1: Jordan's boy, and Krauss went against Jordan. Jordan's wanted him

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Speaker 1: to uh in the draft, take Johnny Dawkins from Duke,

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Speaker 1: and Kross was like, no, no thanks, I'm going for

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Speaker 1: Brad Sellers. And of course brad Sellers gets to the bulls.

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Speaker 1: Michael Jordan's just goes at him hard, made life tough

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Speaker 1: on him, and then brad Sellers gets traded because he

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Speaker 1: was a bust um and crowd. It's weird. Krauss is

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Speaker 1: a smart basketball guy. He had a great eye for talent.

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Speaker 1: Brad Sellers John at Dunkins. Notwithstanding, remember there's a guy

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Speaker 1: did identify Scottie Pippen. Okay, um, you know got Horace Grant,

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Speaker 1: h B. J Armstrong. I mean he picked good guys,

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Speaker 1: Tony Kokach. The problem is he was not a people person.

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Speaker 1: And this is what Aaron Rodgers is really getting out.

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Speaker 1: Of course, all the sports media people freaked out because

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Speaker 1: they were like, oh, Rogers just taking shots at a

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Speaker 1: dead guy. Jerry Krauss, who won six titles, will wait

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Speaker 1: a sec Okay, Jerry Krauss had an eye for talent.

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Speaker 1: That being said, he had horrible people persons skills. Michael

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Speaker 1: Jordan's hated him. Phil Jackson hated him. Scottie Pippen hated

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Speaker 1: him like Krause did not know how to deal with people.

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Speaker 1: That was his problem. And I think Brian gudakunst the

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Speaker 1: GM is at that level. Folks were starting to see

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Speaker 1: people take sides within the Packers. Okay, first of all,

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Speaker 1: the coach La Fleur is almost like and again I'm

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Speaker 1: maybe I'm going drawing a conclusion here, but it feels

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Speaker 1: like he's distancing himself from the GM, especially regard to

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Speaker 1: the Jordan's love pick, because that apparently is what put

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Speaker 1: Rogers over the edge. And since then he's apparently been

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Speaker 1: telling Packers players who are going to be free agents, Hey, guys,

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Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm gonna be here. Just so

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Speaker 1: you know, I don't want you signing a big deal.

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Speaker 1: I may not be here. Now that being said, bok

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Speaker 1: tr Rogers is guy who is his left tackle protector,

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Speaker 1: went to the Kentucky Derby with him. Even if Rodgers

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Speaker 1: is doing that like telling guys, I may not be here,

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Speaker 1: Bore signed a big deal right uh, right before his injury,

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Speaker 1: so like, let's not go overboard with that. I think

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Speaker 1: the slandering the GM on text chains with teammates is interesting,

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Speaker 1: mostly because I'm assuming, uh, one of the players on

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Speaker 1: the text chain like told his agent and then the

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Speaker 1: agent leaked it to the media. But this does feel

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Speaker 1: like we're a deaf conto with Aaron Rodgers. And I

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Speaker 1: will just say Rob Gi loves to feed me the

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Speaker 1: numbers for how the podcast is doing. And Aaron Rodgers

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Speaker 1: has been very, very very good for business. So we're

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Speaker 1: gonna just drive this Aaron Rodgers train all summer long

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Speaker 1: until there is a RA solution. You guys can't get enough.

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Speaker 1: A lot of new listeners. Hello people. Alright, without further ado,

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Speaker 1: let's get to Ben Goliver of the Washington Post. Jason

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Speaker 1: likes to think he knows everything when it comes to sports.

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Speaker 1: I know what sports dance want, But for everything he doesn't.

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Speaker 1: He knows a guy who does. Let's just say I

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Speaker 1: know a guy who knows a guy he knows another guy.

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Speaker 1: Let's welcome into straight fire. A reporter covering the NBA.

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Speaker 1: He recently wrote a book because he was in the

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Speaker 1: bubble Holy Cow for months on end. I can't wait

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Speaker 1: to hear about that. He's currently at the Washington Post,

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Speaker 1: Ben Goliver, Ben, how you doing, man? I'm doing very well. Man.

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Speaker 1: It's great to be here, Like I was just telling

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Speaker 1: you a minute ago, but following your career every step

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Speaker 1: since the early Big Lead days, so it's awesome to

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Speaker 1: chat with you and catch up. Yeah, I want to

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Speaker 1: say I made a run to try to hire Ben

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Speaker 1: at the Big Lead when he was like at Sports

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Speaker 1: Illustrated or maybe even before, were you before s I

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Speaker 1: at CBS Sports and I was writing Blazer's Edge out

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Speaker 1: in Portland, where I'm from. Yes, yes, we'll get to

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Speaker 1: Portland and Damian Lillard's comments later, but I want to

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Speaker 1: start with the book. It's called Bubble Ball, inside the

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Speaker 1: NBA's fight to save a season. First of all, is

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Speaker 1: this your first book? It's my first book, And look,

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Speaker 1: this was a passion project, man, And I was in

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Speaker 1: the bubble for ninety three days and like that was tough.

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Speaker 1: Then I came home, took one week off and basically

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Speaker 1: just chained myself to a computer and wrote for the

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Speaker 1: next two months to get my draft done. Um, you know,

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Speaker 1: there was another two month editing processors. So so we

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Speaker 1: were trying to get this thing out quick while it

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Speaker 1: was still fresh. And I wanted to write it when

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Speaker 1: everything that was going on in the bubble, whether it

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Speaker 1: was on the court or the off off the court,

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Speaker 1: of the social justice protests or you know, the public

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Speaker 1: health stuff was still kind of looming large in our lives.

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Speaker 1: I wanted all that fresh on my mind when I

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Speaker 1: was writing it, because I was just thinking book. You know,

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Speaker 1: ten fifteen years from now, basketball fans are gonna want

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Speaker 1: to know, like, how did Lebron win a title in

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Speaker 1: Disney World? Just makes no sense? And so I wanted

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Speaker 1: to make sure that this book was kind of that

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Speaker 1: time capsule. You know, well, wait a second, what if

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Speaker 1: you Orlando Magic make of now on that one? It

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Speaker 1: could make a run next year. Um. So I'm curious, though,

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Speaker 1: you know, we we've talked to people who were in

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Speaker 1: the bubble, Tania from the l A Times, who has

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Speaker 1: left the paper. But I am curious, like was it.

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Speaker 1: I mean this was a time still when COVID was

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Speaker 1: pretty new, right, it was like three or four months old,

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Speaker 1: So people were still scared about you know, uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: going to hotels, Like how was it for you? Overall?

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Speaker 1: I was freaked out for sure when I was getting

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Speaker 1: down there. I mean I was wearing a face mask

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Speaker 1: on the flight rubber gloves on the fly, like I

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Speaker 1: was super paranoid. I talked to a whole bunch of

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Speaker 1: doctors before I even went, just to ask him like

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Speaker 1: should I even go, Like is this a smart thing

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Speaker 1: to do? They reassured me that, look, you're probably gonna

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Speaker 1: be safer there than anybody else or anywhere else. But

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Speaker 1: you're still having those thoughts of like, well, what if

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Speaker 1: one player goes to a strip club like Lou Williams,

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Speaker 1: or orders post baids like Rashaun Holmes, or brings a

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Speaker 1: woman into his room like uh Daniel House. The whole

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Speaker 1: time you're you're just thinking like all it takes is

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Speaker 1: one guy. These guys are playing constantly, there could be

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Speaker 1: a really quick outbreak. And I'll tell you this too,

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Speaker 1: Like I kept doing interviews when I was there the

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Speaker 1: first week, and we were locked in our hotel room

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Speaker 1: for the quarantine, which was like a real mental challenge,

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Speaker 1: and you can't go out for any reason except to

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Speaker 1: get your notes swabbed by the by the COVID testers. Right,

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Speaker 1: I'm getting all these interview questions from like Germany, Australia,

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Speaker 1: and they're basically just asking like do you think you're

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Speaker 1: gonna die, like is there going to be an outbreak? So,

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Speaker 1: like I just when I was starting to get comfortable

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Speaker 1: down there, you're getting all these questions of like people

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Speaker 1: treating us like lab rats, and and kind of just wondering,

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Speaker 1: well this experiment work. But I'll say within about two weeks,

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Speaker 1: once we started getting the negative test back from everybody,

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Speaker 1: nobody tested positive. It was like this huge relief. But

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Speaker 1: at the same time, there was Big Brother everywhere. Man.

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Speaker 1: I was wearing a tracking device at all times that

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Speaker 1: would beat if I got too close to somebody. We

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Speaker 1: had the electronic bracelet to get into of our hotel rooms.

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Speaker 1: They used that to track us around the campus. On

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Speaker 1: top of that, we had four levels of security, NBA, Disney,

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Speaker 1: local cops, Sheriff's department. One time I was walking around

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Speaker 1: at night, a SUV rolled up on me and said, hey,

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Speaker 1: we need to see your credential. Um, you know, are

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Speaker 1: you supposed to be here. I'm glad I had it.

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Speaker 1: I don't know what would happen if I did it.

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Speaker 1: But I don't forget the infamous snitch line too, right,

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Speaker 1: Like if you're not on a mask, people could text

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Speaker 1: in and report on each other. So I was pretty

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Speaker 1: relieved to get out of there, to be honest, Like

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Speaker 1: it was hard and challenging for sure, but you know,

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Speaker 1: the Big Brother stuff did keep everyone safe, so on

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Speaker 1: that fact, it was a win. But that's really where

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Speaker 1: the mental challenges for me we're kind of taking place.

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Speaker 1: I'm kinda going off sports here, but what the Big

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Speaker 1: Brother stuff you're talking about is interesting because apparently in China,

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Speaker 1: that's like people just live with it. That just is

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Speaker 1: a deal. Like there's cameras everywhere, they know what you're doing.

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Speaker 1: How did you feel when they were tracking you everywhere?

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Speaker 1: You win every move you make. I mean, it's like

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Speaker 1: you could do much right. Well, I consider myself a

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Speaker 1: law abiding citizen. I'm not like I'm not getting up

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Speaker 1: to that much crazy stuff, right, But there was one

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Speaker 1: time where I was like doing laundry and the shared

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Speaker 1: laundry rooms that night, nobody's around. But I just thought,

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Speaker 1: oh my god, I forgot to wear a mask. For

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Speaker 1: whatever reason, just that day, I forgotten. So I went

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Speaker 1: sprinting back up to my hotel room of four flights.

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Speaker 1: The stairs grabbed it went right back down. I mean,

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Speaker 1: they were in my head like that basis, I was

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Speaker 1: really paranoid and you couldn't go in like to other

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Speaker 1: people's rooms, right, So my friend was like, hey, can

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Speaker 1: you come over and edit this story for me? I

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Speaker 1: was like, well, we gotta do this on zoom or

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Speaker 1: like I I don't even want them to know that,

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Speaker 1: like somehow they could track me with my bracelet or

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Speaker 1: my my monitor or whatever else. So they were definitely

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Speaker 1: in my head, you know, and hold on, hold on,

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Speaker 1: why couldn't you go in other people's rooms if you

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Speaker 1: guys were getting tested every day? Well, they just wanted

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Speaker 1: to make sure that every base was covered, right, so

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Speaker 1: they were they were really strict with the players. They

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Speaker 1: didn't want anyone coming into contact with the players indoors

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Speaker 1: basically other than their teammates, so that even the player

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Speaker 1: to player contact was super limited. But we would, you know,

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Speaker 1: potentially come into contact with players too, because in the

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Speaker 1: postgame press conferences, were there you know, six or seven

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Speaker 1: feet apart. So their their whole thing was indoor contact

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Speaker 1: is the way this thing spreads. So we've just got

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Speaker 1: to eliminate it all. So for like, you know, when

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Speaker 1: we were eating, you know, the tables were all spread out,

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Speaker 1: you know, we'd be sitting six eight ten ft apart.

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Speaker 1: A lot of times I was just eating alone a

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Speaker 1: lot of my meals because there was no real socialization

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Speaker 1: vibe to it. Now there's a little bit different. Outside

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Speaker 1: people would hang out by the pool. They'd smoke cigars.

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Speaker 1: The refs love cigars and they have big, sticky cigars

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Speaker 1: and just kind of unwinding after their game days. And

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Speaker 1: you know, people would drink and hang out, and there

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Speaker 1: was a few mixers and stuff like that, but almost

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Speaker 1: always it was outdoors because they were just very very

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Speaker 1: careful about that. I am curious. I mean, you don't

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Speaker 1: need to answer this, but you know you're not married.

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Speaker 1: So what do you think there were people, well, you know,

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Speaker 1: journalists male and female getting together. Had you heard any

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Speaker 1: rumors about that. You don't need to name names. I'm

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Speaker 1: not asking you to call your people out. I would

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Speaker 1: just say it was completely taboo. Like even with the

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Speaker 1: interviews with the players, like the Daniel House thing kind

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Speaker 1: of came out of nowhere because it was sort of

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Speaker 1: like everybody had agreed to like the giant like don't ask,

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Speaker 1: don't tell policy on all that stuff. Right, it was

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Speaker 1: just like, look, we're all in this together. You know

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Speaker 1: who knows what the cable television bills are gonna look

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Speaker 1: like at the end of the stay for certain people.

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Speaker 1: You know, I'm sure the I'm sure the WiFi is

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Speaker 1: getting taxed, you know what I mean at certain hours

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Speaker 1: of the night. But look, everybody was in it together

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Speaker 1: and I think there was more of like a mutual

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Speaker 1: respect on that front. But you know, who knows how

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Speaker 1: good the systems really were. But you know, we were

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Speaker 1: barred from the players rooms, and that's really what they

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Speaker 1: try to do is make bubbles within bubbles, So like

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Speaker 1: I couldn't go walk into the player's hotel without an

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Speaker 1: official escort. That only happened a couple of times. Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, other media members again, they're not supposed to

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Speaker 1: go into other people's rooms. There were a couple of

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Speaker 1: the players hotels that were actually out of our site completely.

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Speaker 1: We couldn't get over there. I think that's one of

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Speaker 1: the reason why Daniel hau has probably got into trouble

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Speaker 1: because the Rockets were the last team remaining in that hotel,

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Speaker 1: so he's probably thinking, like we're the King of the

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Speaker 1: Grand Fluoridian. There's nobody else there, nobody's watching kind of

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Speaker 1: sneaking a side door, and of course it didn't quite

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Speaker 1: go that way. Yeah, I guess I'm curious. Were you

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Speaker 1: at the Rockets Lakers game when Rondo got into it

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Speaker 1: with or or was it Rondo's brother and Westbrook? Correct, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: Rondo's brother called him trash from the sideline. There was

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Speaker 1: there was these big signs that said, look, you know,

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Speaker 1: you have to basically treat this almost like a golf tournament.

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Speaker 1: You know, you can politely clap and cheer, you can

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Speaker 1: even stand up if you want. But there wasn't supposed

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Speaker 1: to be any heckling. There wasn't supposed to be any negativity,

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Speaker 1: and the Rockets were just falling apart completely. In Westbrook's

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Speaker 1: doing his typical thing where he's like getting into his

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Speaker 1: own head. They're daring him to shoot. He's really frustrated

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Speaker 1: he can't hit a thing. They know they're about to lose,

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Speaker 1: and they also realized that probably their their whole team

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Speaker 1: is about to upload, you know what I mean. Daryl

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Speaker 1: Murray and Mike D'Antoni were gone not too long after

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Speaker 1: the end of the bubble, right, and so it was

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Speaker 1: clearly the end of a chapter. They were frustrated in

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Speaker 1: Westbrook went to the referees and it's like, you know

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Speaker 1: the rules, you know, you you got to get this

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Speaker 1: guy out of here. He's not supposed to be young

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Speaker 1: at us like that, and the referees, you know, talk

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Speaker 1: to security and they dragged him out of there. But

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Speaker 1: Rondo's brother was there because he was the head of

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Speaker 1: the barbers, like kind of coordinating the barbers on campus,

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Speaker 1: and so that's why he was one of the few

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Speaker 1: people actually to be allowed at these games. For the

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Speaker 1: most part, the crowd was like really respectful. Um, most

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Speaker 1: of the trash talk must happened on the court. You know,

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Speaker 1: I'll never forget brawn in that same series going after

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Speaker 1: Robert Covington, and you know, Covington was complaining that he

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Speaker 1: was being you know, too physical basically, and Lebron's like,

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Speaker 1: all you guys do is touch and grab. All you

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Speaker 1: guys do was hold, and he's basically telling him to

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Speaker 1: shut up and just play basketball and get off of him.

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Speaker 1: And you know, we can hear this stuff much more

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Speaker 1: clearly than I can hear that like a Staples And

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Speaker 1: I know, you go to a lot of Lakers game

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Speaker 1: at Stable Center right when we can hear some stuff

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Speaker 1: in that environment because the seats down there are great,

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Speaker 1: but in the empty gym with the playoff intensity, guys

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Speaker 1: really yelling. I mean, I'm amazed, Like Robert Covington even

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Speaker 1: could keep playing, like I don't know. If you during

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Speaker 1: that spot, Lebron's coming after you and just basically punking

345
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Speaker 1: you in front of all these people, I'd be like,

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Speaker 1: oh man, check me out, coach, Let's try again next half.

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Speaker 1: You know, I am curious, like you spent you spent.

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Speaker 1: You covered the NBA before the pandemic, you covered it

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Speaker 1: in the bubble, and you've covered it post pandemic. You know,

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Speaker 1: people want to try to ding that Bubble title for Lebron. Um.

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Speaker 1: What was the end was the basketball? Anything like it

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Speaker 1: is pre pandemic in the bubble, but put it in

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Speaker 1: all caps, exclamation point, underline, no asterisk period. You've got

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Speaker 1: to give this. You've got to give this title to Lebron.

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Speaker 1: A couple of reasons why. First of all, he was

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Speaker 1: the best player in the bubble. Anthony Davis was the

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Speaker 1: second best player in the bubble. Second of all, they

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Speaker 1: went through the playoffs sixteen and five. They rolled everybody.

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Speaker 1: I mean, there was some competitive series, but they took

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Speaker 1: care of their business. And then the other thing that

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Speaker 1: you can use to validate that result is look how

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Speaker 1: the teams responded to what happened in the bubble. If

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Speaker 1: all these teams were just throwing away this postseason and

364
00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:35,560
Speaker 1: saying it doesn't really matter. Do we see Philadelphia fire

365
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Speaker 1: their coach immediately and get a new president and trade

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Speaker 1: Al Horford. Do we see the Clippers part ways with

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Speaker 1: Clippers legend Doc Rivers and change a bunch of their

368
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Speaker 1: roster pieces. Do we see Houston completely turned everything over,

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Speaker 1: trade both their stars and their coach and their GM.

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Speaker 1: Do we see Milwaukee mortgage is entire future to get

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Speaker 1: Drew Holiday? Right? Um? I think when you're seeing all

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Speaker 1: of those impacts within like three months after the bubble

373
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Speaker 1: was over, right, I mean that the off season was

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Speaker 1: really short, that tells you they all treated it realistically

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Speaker 1: and they treated it like normal, And so for me,

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Speaker 1: I think the quality of play actually in the bubble

377
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Speaker 1: was really high. To no travel was the one thing

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Speaker 1: that everybody agreed was awesome about the bubble, right. The

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Speaker 1: players loved it because they got into a group. The

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Speaker 1: referees loved it, even though they missed the frequent flower

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Speaker 1: miles they were happy about it and there and meeting

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Speaker 1: guys like me loved it because you know, sometimes I'm

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Speaker 1: flying across country twelve times during the postseason, right back

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Speaker 1: and forth for these different series in the bubble, it's

385
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Speaker 1: like you've got to take a twelve minute shuttle bus

386
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Speaker 1: and you're right there to watch all the games. I

387
00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,040
Speaker 1: mean from an efficiency standpoint, you know, like you know,

388
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Speaker 1: guys like you and we grew up on the internet,

389
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,320
Speaker 1: like efficiency is what it's all about, right, and working

390
00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:41,480
Speaker 1: from home has some real benefits because you know, we

391
00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,320
Speaker 1: can do things more quickly, line it all up. That's

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Speaker 1: kind of how it felt in the bubble too. It

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Speaker 1: was like they brought all these games like dropped them

394
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Speaker 1: in my lap, and it's like, hey, you get to

395
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Speaker 1: be Rihanna, you get to be Jack Nicholson sit in courtside.

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Speaker 1: You know. Yeah you mentioned the Clippers. Um, were you

397
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Speaker 1: at any of the games in their meltdown against Denver?

398
00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:01,880
Speaker 1: And you know, having seen what you've seen from them

399
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,520
Speaker 1: this year, are they dramatically different or basically the same thing?

400
00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,080
Speaker 1: Now they have a new coach and a couple of

401
00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,119
Speaker 1: new players. But well, let me say my answer to

402
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Speaker 1: every question, were you at the game is yes. My

403
00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:13,679
Speaker 1: pride and joy was that I went to every single

404
00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,159
Speaker 1: game from the second round of the playoffs on in

405
00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,919
Speaker 1: every in every series. So imagine Jimmy Goldstein with the

406
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,040
Speaker 1: private jet and all the connections. Even he couldn't do

407
00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:25,080
Speaker 1: that in the normal year because all these games were

408
00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,000
Speaker 1: in one spot, right, So like, I'm a crazy basketball junkie.

409
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,399
Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm going all in with this. I'm just

410
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Speaker 1: gonna see every game and never Actually, you know comes

411
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Speaker 1: through in the book too, because I could do a

412
00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,360
Speaker 1: whole chapter on the Clippers and have said, well, look,

413
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Speaker 1: I was at all their games along the way. For me,

414
00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:41,480
Speaker 1: it was obvious they were about to crack. About halfway

415
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,240
Speaker 1: through that series, there were some early warning signs with

416
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,160
Speaker 1: Kauai really just not rising to the moment. I think

417
00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,080
Speaker 1: it was in game game two of that series. It

418
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Speaker 1: was and everybody was kind of looking around, like, wait

419
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,640
Speaker 1: a minute, where's our en court leader? What's going on here?

420
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,760
Speaker 1: After Game six, Kauai gets asked point blank by reporter

421
00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,000
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles on the zoom call are you guys choking?

422
00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,560
Speaker 1: And he doesn't say no, He's just like, uh, you

423
00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:05,399
Speaker 1: kind of like called himself and was like, you know,

424
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,000
Speaker 1: kind of mumbled out a bit. And I'm sitting there

425
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,240
Speaker 1: thinking like, man, this guy just got you know, his

426
00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:13,560
Speaker 1: entire reputation checked right here in front of everybody. We're

427
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:14,960
Speaker 1: all sitting there and thinking, okay, well, how is he

428
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,000
Speaker 1: going to respond? If there's ever going to be that

429
00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:19,720
Speaker 1: Game seven moment where you're like, screw you reporter for

430
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,160
Speaker 1: calling me a choker, Like, you know, screw everybody who's

431
00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,600
Speaker 1: doubting me. That's gonna be it, right, Like, imagine if

432
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,720
Speaker 1: somebody called Lebron right now at this stage of his

433
00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,080
Speaker 1: career at choker, or a Damian Lillard, Like, look how

434
00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,320
Speaker 1: Damian Lillard responded to the Clippers trash talk. He comes

435
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,199
Speaker 1: out and puts up like sixty points. It has this

436
00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,159
Speaker 1: crazy run through the bubble right so um and just

437
00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:39,760
Speaker 1: not really a big competitive response for the Clippers. I

438
00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,000
Speaker 1: was convinced they were ready to go home. They weren't

439
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,959
Speaker 1: the only team, you know, the Sixers wanted to get

440
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,760
Speaker 1: out of there. They kept talking about how they missed

441
00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,760
Speaker 1: the Philadelphia arena, and We're all sitting there saying, come on, guys,

442
00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:53,920
Speaker 1: nobody has home court here. You know, everybody's everybody's missing home, right. So,

443
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,840
Speaker 1: you know, for the Clippers, in terms of how they've evolved, um,

444
00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,080
Speaker 1: the trading of Lou Williams and the letting go of

445
00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,720
Speaker 1: Montrez Harrold, I think was important. They were stuck in

446
00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:04,760
Speaker 1: between kind of an identity crisis where there was that

447
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,920
Speaker 1: previous team that had been run by all those blue

448
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:09,960
Speaker 1: guys and the bench guys and the Stars coming in.

449
00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,840
Speaker 1: They never quite meshed it properly in year one, and

450
00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:14,680
Speaker 1: now this year it's the Stars team and they've got

451
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,640
Speaker 1: some more supporting cast members. I like the Rondo edition

452
00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:19,520
Speaker 1: for them. It should give them a little bit more. Um.

453
00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,960
Speaker 1: You know, I guess guts in these tough moments, but

454
00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:25,600
Speaker 1: I still don't trust them. They're very reliant upon the

455
00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:27,760
Speaker 1: three point shot. They don't have guys who get to

456
00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:29,400
Speaker 1: the basket a lot. They don't have guys who get

457
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,080
Speaker 1: to the free throw line a lot. And if your

458
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:32,920
Speaker 1: stars are just jump shooters, you're going to be really

459
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,880
Speaker 1: inconsistent in the postseason. That's kind of how I see them.

460
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:37,800
Speaker 1: But look, the door is open right now. You know,

461
00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,600
Speaker 1: the Lakers are kind of struggling. If you can't run

462
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,000
Speaker 1: through it now, right if you can't take advantage of

463
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,800
Speaker 1: this opportunity. When are you gonna do it? That's a

464
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,359
Speaker 1: great point. I I do. I just wonder, like you said,

465
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,399
Speaker 1: like reliant upon the three? Right? So I mean essentially, like,

466
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:56,560
Speaker 1: are Reggie Jackson, Pat Beverley and Morris gonna come through

467
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:58,760
Speaker 1: from deep if Paul George and kau I don't. And

468
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,359
Speaker 1: we know Paul struggled in the post season um since

469
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:03,959
Speaker 1: his early days with the Pacers. Absolutely, and then are

470
00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:05,720
Speaker 1: those guys are gonna trust them? Right? Like you get

471
00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:08,639
Speaker 1: halfway through a series and let's say Reggie has like

472
00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:10,840
Speaker 1: a one for seven night in game two, right, and

473
00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:12,639
Speaker 1: you're Paul George and you're Kauhi Leonard and the way

474
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:14,680
Speaker 1: that the world is on your shoulders and you're thinking, Man,

475
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:17,040
Speaker 1: we can't go out like this again. Do I really

476
00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:18,639
Speaker 1: want to kick to Reggie when I'm open? Or do

477
00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:20,640
Speaker 1: I want to put this out my own shoulders? Paul

478
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:22,639
Speaker 1: George did that in Indiana a lot. You know, they

479
00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,120
Speaker 1: get into tough situations and he would always want the ball.

480
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:27,879
Speaker 1: Remember that huge press conference fiasco he had where he's like,

481
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:29,920
Speaker 1: I've got to have the ball for the final shot,

482
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,720
Speaker 1: no matter what. In that series, against Lebron, So he

483
00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:34,720
Speaker 1: wants to be that guy. But the problem is, you know,

484
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,080
Speaker 1: they just weren't those guys and keep moments last year.

485
00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:39,639
Speaker 1: And you know, to me, that's where the getting to

486
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:41,919
Speaker 1: the free throw line stuff is so important. The Lakers

487
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,439
Speaker 1: Stars do a great job of that, Chris Paul, Devin Booker.

488
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:46,760
Speaker 1: Those guys can get to the free throw line. For Phoenix,

489
00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,560
Speaker 1: yokich Man, he's got every trick in the book, and

490
00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:50,920
Speaker 1: he can get to the free throw line when he

491
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 1: needs to unclunch moments. And so is Kauai gonna be

492
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,000
Speaker 1: okay with eighteen footers every single time down or Paul

493
00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,240
Speaker 1: George hitting those deep you know, off the Gibil three's

494
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,080
Speaker 1: that he likes to go to. Is that a sustainable formula?

495
00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,560
Speaker 1: I'm not sure. By the way, I question their defense too,

496
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:06,640
Speaker 1: like do they have somebody to match up with really

497
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,320
Speaker 1: skilled biggs. I'm sure you watched that game last week.

498
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,840
Speaker 1: Yoki killed Zobach, I mean, just absolutely destroyed him, turned

499
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,080
Speaker 1: him inside out in that game. I don't know if

500
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,240
Speaker 1: they have a better matchup where Sergei Bakam and They've

501
00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,440
Speaker 1: got some real questions. Fox Sports Radio has the best

502
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,360
Speaker 1: sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our

503
00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:27,879
Speaker 1: shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the

504
00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,040
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio app. Search f s R to listen live.

505
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,920
Speaker 1: Who do you think currently is the is the best

506
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,359
Speaker 1: team most likely to come out of the West given

507
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,160
Speaker 1: the injuries? You know, Jamal Murray, Lebron, a d all that.

508
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:41,720
Speaker 1: So I'm really big on being deferential to the teams

509
00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:43,679
Speaker 1: that have earned it. So I usually give the benefit

510
00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:46,000
Speaker 1: of the dodge the Lakers. They've got me nervous here

511
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,439
Speaker 1: this last week, though. I mean Lebron's ankle and his

512
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,960
Speaker 1: comments about the ankle are very concerning to me because

513
00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:53,679
Speaker 1: he needed to be in a ramp up mode right now,

514
00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,760
Speaker 1: and if he's not right, like if the ankle is

515
00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,440
Speaker 1: not right, the Lakers title defense is not right. It's

516
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:01,840
Speaker 1: as simple that right. And Anthony Davis has been pretty

517
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,879
Speaker 1: inconsistent too. Um, I would still defer to them, but

518
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,960
Speaker 1: I think the team, you know, honestly that people don't

519
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,639
Speaker 1: want to face his denver. I could gush about Yoki

520
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,240
Speaker 1: all day long. I think this guy deserves even more

521
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,080
Speaker 1: credit than he's gone. He's gonna win m v P.

522
00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:16,840
Speaker 1: But I think that we need to start including him

523
00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,040
Speaker 1: and possibly being the best player in basketball conversation. Now

524
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,720
Speaker 1: you look at Lebron, Katie Janice Steph. Those are the

525
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,480
Speaker 1: guys who typically get into that conversation. Right now, you

526
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:29,199
Speaker 1: look at Yokich is all around offensive impact, How he

527
00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:31,199
Speaker 1: can make his teammates better, how he can cover up

528
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:34,840
Speaker 1: for injured guys like Jamal Murray. They've just been absolutely rolling.

529
00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:37,919
Speaker 1: He can score it himself. Um, I understand the defense

530
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:39,520
Speaker 1: is going to be a question mark, but look, he's

531
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,560
Speaker 1: average at least on defense, and uh, he makes up

532
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,399
Speaker 1: for it on offense. To me, I just think that

533
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,639
Speaker 1: he's a monster mismatch for a lot of these teams

534
00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,200
Speaker 1: in the playoffs, I wouldn't want to face them. I'd

535
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,520
Speaker 1: be more afraid of Denver honestly than Phoenix or Utah

536
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:55,640
Speaker 1: at this point. Whoof Okay, I don't think I'm there

537
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,520
Speaker 1: with you yet. On Denver, I mean, they just what

538
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,119
Speaker 1: what what I saw against the Lakers the other I

539
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,720
Speaker 1: was they basically just have two guys. It's your kitchen porter,

540
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,040
Speaker 1: Like I don't know who the third guy is, Aaron Gordon?

541
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:09,080
Speaker 1: Is it me or just does he look like he's

542
00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:12,040
Speaker 1: not confident offensively? Well, he's actually been pretty good for

543
00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:14,080
Speaker 1: them since he's come over, but he's not the big

544
00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:16,080
Speaker 1: time volume score three. He's not Kuzma, you know what

545
00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:17,760
Speaker 1: I mean, where he's gonna come in and light you up.

546
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 1: I will say this about the Nuggets. The Lakers are

547
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,720
Speaker 1: there kryptonite. Anthony Davis is yr Kichs kryptonite. Like he's

548
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:25,520
Speaker 1: the one guy. We saw that in last year's Western

549
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,879
Speaker 1: Conference Finals where Davis's versatility and defense can really bother

550
00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,440
Speaker 1: your kitchen. Their defensive schemes really bother him too, where

551
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,840
Speaker 1: they trapped and like they forced him to kind of

552
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:37,879
Speaker 1: beat them. But like, if I'm saying first round matchup,

553
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,280
Speaker 1: if I'm the Nuggets, I'm feeling good about any team

554
00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,320
Speaker 1: they might face in the first round. And you know,

555
00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:44,600
Speaker 1: if the Lakers were to get knocked out early, I

556
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,240
Speaker 1: feel like the door is kind of open for them.

557
00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,000
Speaker 1: But now I'm with you, like, look, they have no

558
00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:51,040
Speaker 1: defensive matchup. Really that's great for Lebron or Anthony Davis

559
00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,120
Speaker 1: on the other end. And so you saw Lebron get

560
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,200
Speaker 1: into a lot of the physical old man stuff, turnaround jumpers,

561
00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,720
Speaker 1: put his head down and those guys just physically. Aaron

562
00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,679
Speaker 1: Gordon is a nice defensive player, um Paul Millsap, you know,

563
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,160
Speaker 1: no chance. I mean maybe five or five years ago,

564
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:07,800
Speaker 1: but even then, you know, so yeah, even then in Atlanta,

565
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,240
Speaker 1: Lebron made him look back exactly. So those are just

566
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,040
Speaker 1: really tough individual matchups for them. But in terms of

567
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,960
Speaker 1: the non Lakers teams, like if it was Clippers versus Nuggets,

568
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,320
Speaker 1: I'm taking Nuggets. I mean they've beat up multiple times

569
00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:22,040
Speaker 1: heads up this season, and Yokis just kills their centers

570
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,199
Speaker 1: like every single time. So I'm looking forward to what

571
00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:27,520
Speaker 1: he could do. I also love Yoki and that there's

572
00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:30,040
Speaker 1: a playoff version of him where he kicks his game

573
00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:33,600
Speaker 1: up another notch. It's not playoff p right like playoff jokers.

574
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:35,680
Speaker 1: A real deal. I mean, this guy is a We'll

575
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:37,920
Speaker 1: look back at his numbers against Portland San Antonio a

576
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,520
Speaker 1: couple of years ago, you know, throughout last year's postseason,

577
00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,800
Speaker 1: he puts up monster, monster numbers. Yeah, but I don't know, Ben,

578
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:45,600
Speaker 1: how much of that has to do with playing alongside

579
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,160
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray, who can go for forty or fifty at

580
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:49,920
Speaker 1: the drop of a hat. I mean, we haven't seen

581
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,240
Speaker 1: him without Murray, but you know the way Michael Porter Jr.

582
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,000
Speaker 1: Shooting the three is crazy, I will say, Ben, if

583
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,760
Speaker 1: you look at the gambling odds, denver of the top

584
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,399
Speaker 1: five is the longest shot to come out of the West.

585
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,240
Speaker 1: See what happened. You do nothing about gambling, but go

586
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,040
Speaker 1: for it. Look, I mean, Utah is good too, um,

587
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,320
Speaker 1: and they've been really consistent. But you know, I actually

588
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,439
Speaker 1: think like Gobert is almost easier to exploit in the

589
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,760
Speaker 1: playoffs than a guy like Yoki, And if they go

590
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,720
Speaker 1: head to head, Yokich kills Gobert to um, you're right

591
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,320
Speaker 1: on Murray though. Look, it's gonna really reorient their offense

592
00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:24,360
Speaker 1: because you're gonna be able to trap and double Yokich

593
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,760
Speaker 1: at will whenever you want, because you don't have that

594
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,480
Speaker 1: backcourt scoring partner. And Murray I called him the m

595
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:31,520
Speaker 1: v P, the most bubble player, Like he was the

596
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,280
Speaker 1: guy who symbolized the bubble better than anybody last year,

597
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:36,959
Speaker 1: and so that that was just an absolutely brutal hit

598
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,359
Speaker 1: for them. But I still think like they've been playing

599
00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,080
Speaker 1: well without him, Like I mean, it's almost not quite undefeated,

600
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:44,520
Speaker 1: but pretty close and a big reason why his porter

601
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,280
Speaker 1: stepped up. He can get a shot anywhere. And you know,

602
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,640
Speaker 1: if you leave him. You know Yokis is gonna find him.

603
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:51,679
Speaker 1: And then Gordon's a great cutter. You know he'll get

604
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:53,360
Speaker 1: to the basket. Yokis will just get him a lot

605
00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:55,879
Speaker 1: of easy points. So um, I would just say be

606
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,320
Speaker 1: quickly and be careful, don't ride off the Nuggets yet.

607
00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,760
Speaker 1: I guess that that's my real point here. You haven't

608
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,120
Speaker 1: mentioned Phoenix, Ben, and I have to say, like for me,

609
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,840
Speaker 1: they match up great with the Clippers with Bridges a

610
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,760
Speaker 1: good defender, and Jake crowd are really experienced player on

611
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 1: the wing. I know they don't have playoff experience and

612
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,960
Speaker 1: Monty Williams has never won a playoff series, but I

613
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:16,639
Speaker 1: think they've got the best backcourt in the West with

614
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,960
Speaker 1: CP three and Booker, and they have a big guy too.

615
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,560
Speaker 1: I guess kind of sort of match up with with

616
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:27,040
Speaker 1: Yoki in eighton worry On Phoenix, I think that kind

617
00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,160
Speaker 1: of as sleepers, right, Like I think that they match

618
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:31,680
Speaker 1: up better with every team but the Lakers. So if

619
00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 1: somebody else can handle the Lakers for them, then I

620
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:37,040
Speaker 1: think their odds dramatically improved. Like I think you can

621
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,400
Speaker 1: get by with Crowder and Bridges in that front line

622
00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,200
Speaker 1: against the Clippers, start forwards, but not the Lakers start forwards.

623
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:43,920
Speaker 1: I mean, eight is just too long for anything they're

624
00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,320
Speaker 1: gonna throw at him. And then Lebron is too physical

625
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:48,920
Speaker 1: for bridges. It's almost like they need the other bridges

626
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:53,240
Speaker 1: out in Charlotte's body to go with Miles uh Phoenix

627
00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:55,840
Speaker 1: is bridges is game like, combine them into one bridges

628
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,080
Speaker 1: and then you're gonna be able to stop Lebron. Maybe. Um.

629
00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:01,000
Speaker 1: The other thing too, is with Chris Paul. I mean, look,

630
00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:02,760
Speaker 1: he's gonna have to ramp his minutes up, keep the

631
00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,880
Speaker 1: efficiency up, and execute lighting games. That's been a problem

632
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:08,040
Speaker 1: for him in previous postseasons, and we see he kind

633
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:10,360
Speaker 1: of hits a wall usually around the second round. So

634
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:12,239
Speaker 1: that's just, you know, another concern that I would have.

635
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:14,600
Speaker 1: But they've been awesome. Money is right there in the

636
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,120
Speaker 1: Coach of the Year. Makes you can make a strong

637
00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,680
Speaker 1: case for him or Quinn Snyder or TIBs out in

638
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,600
Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference, and I think they kind of like

639
00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:23,680
Speaker 1: being sleepers by the way. I think they like, you know,

640
00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:25,960
Speaker 1: guys like be ignoring them because they could just keep

641
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,520
Speaker 1: doing their things. That's fine, good for them, I'll add,

642
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,680
Speaker 1: I'll add a ship to their shoulder. Yeah, Sun Snuggets

643
00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:34,600
Speaker 1: is weird. They haven't played it looks like since January,

644
00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:38,560
Speaker 1: like early January, and you know the Suns haven't seen

645
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,560
Speaker 1: them without Murray, I don't. I know, you have to

646
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,080
Speaker 1: kind of walk before you can run in the NBA playoffs,

647
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:46,000
Speaker 1: So the Sun's theoretically first time in the playoffs in

648
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,760
Speaker 1: eleven years. They got no chance, but West does feel

649
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,680
Speaker 1: wide open, right, I'm with you though, bust up, go ahead. No,

650
00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,840
Speaker 1: I was gonna say no question. And actually the last

651
00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:57,920
Speaker 1: time those two teams played, I think Booker was injured,

652
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,400
Speaker 1: so your ki went nuts. But it was one of

653
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,600
Speaker 1: those things where you know, Phoenix's roster is probably gonna

654
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:03,520
Speaker 1: be in a better spot now than it wasn't January.

655
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:05,000
Speaker 1: So I think they're going into that series. If we

656
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:06,920
Speaker 1: were to match up like that, probably second round. I

657
00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:08,880
Speaker 1: think Phoenix would go in there with profidence too, just

658
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,440
Speaker 1: because you know, they all really buy into Chris Paul.

659
00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:13,680
Speaker 1: He's got to be all NBA second team this year.

660
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:15,640
Speaker 1: I can't quite get him into like the top three

661
00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,920
Speaker 1: or four m v P conversation. I know Charles Barkley

662
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,280
Speaker 1: wants to get there. I can't do that. But All

663
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,240
Speaker 1: NBA second team for sure. Um, I want to wrap

664
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:25,920
Speaker 1: up the West with a guy you covered. Um, you

665
00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,440
Speaker 1: were a Blazer's Edge of blog. Now did you start

666
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,600
Speaker 1: the website? No? I I My first sight actually I started,

667
00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:34,000
Speaker 1: was called Draft Kevin Durant, and my whole goal was

668
00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:36,640
Speaker 1: to try to convince the Blazers to take k D

669
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,640
Speaker 1: over Ode in two thousand seven. And you know, I

670
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:41,080
Speaker 1: was young, and I was young and egotistical. This is

671
00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,000
Speaker 1: on blog spot, you know, and I'm thinking I'm gonna

672
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,360
Speaker 1: be able to convince these guys to do it, and

673
00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:47,880
Speaker 1: they and of course it didn't go that way, and

674
00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:49,520
Speaker 1: I was crushed and I was like, well, what should

675
00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:51,760
Speaker 1: I do now? And luckily there was a site starting

676
00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:53,640
Speaker 1: up called Blazer's Edge have been around for a year

677
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,320
Speaker 1: or two. This is back in two thousand seven. I

678
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:58,680
Speaker 1: was able to kind of, um, you know, communicate with them,

679
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:01,320
Speaker 1: get in touch with the Blazers, get game credential, and

680
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:03,360
Speaker 1: so I covered the team for you know, probably five

681
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,960
Speaker 1: six seven years, just going to home games, kind of

682
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,320
Speaker 1: doing as like a moonlighting thing as I transitioned into

683
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,000
Speaker 1: NBA writing, So I know that you're doing as you

684
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,640
Speaker 1: as your other job. So I was just sales and

685
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,000
Speaker 1: marketing for a small business in the Portland area. We

686
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,880
Speaker 1: sold like bike racks, and it was really good experience

687
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:20,960
Speaker 1: because it was mostly online, you know, so I got

688
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:22,760
Speaker 1: you know, it was kind of uh, you know, there

689
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:24,640
Speaker 1: are a lot of crossover Like I have a podcast now.

690
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,120
Speaker 1: It's a lot of the marketing stuff we do with

691
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,440
Speaker 1: the podcasts similar to what I was doing back in

692
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,320
Speaker 1: my day job ten years ago. You know, that's pretty cool.

693
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:34,120
Speaker 1: So you went from that to writing for a blog,

694
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:36,960
Speaker 1: to Sports Illustrated, to the Washington Post to a book

695
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:39,200
Speaker 1: on the bubble. I mean, it's been a run, man.

696
00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,840
Speaker 1: Then what a run? That's like the thirteen years. I mean,

697
00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 1: you know, I'd say we're so bad at predicting the

698
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,280
Speaker 1: future because if somebody had told me five years ago

699
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:50,680
Speaker 1: that I would be in Los Angeles at FS one

700
00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:52,080
Speaker 1: and doing all this stuff, I would have been like,

701
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:54,920
Speaker 1: come on, Gibriel, you know, oh yeah, you know, five

702
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,080
Speaker 1: years now, here's what's happening. I have a podcast and

703
00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:59,320
Speaker 1: radio and all this stuff. I mean, if somebody told

704
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,680
Speaker 1: you ten year ago you'll be at the Washington Post

705
00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,760
Speaker 1: writing a book on the NBA, be honest, Ben, You're

706
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:06,440
Speaker 1: you would have laughed him out of the room. Right. Well,

707
00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:08,000
Speaker 1: I don't know if you feel like this. Sometimes I

708
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:09,800
Speaker 1: feel like I'm Forrest Gump. You know. It's just like

709
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,800
Speaker 1: I just keep falling into these historic situations where it's

710
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,720
Speaker 1: like I'm just wandering around aimlessly. Like honestly, I never

711
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:17,680
Speaker 1: really went out and saw jobs, like things just kind

712
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:19,240
Speaker 1: of filling in my lap. But I know that sounds

713
00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:21,400
Speaker 1: like kind of goofy. And I talked to young journalists

714
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:22,480
Speaker 1: and They're like, well, how did you do it? And

715
00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:24,240
Speaker 1: I was like, I still have no idea, Like I

716
00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:26,600
Speaker 1: feel like, I mean, it was hard work, obviously, I

717
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:28,640
Speaker 1: was working around the clock and just throw my whole

718
00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,960
Speaker 1: heart into this stuff. And I remember you'd be posted

719
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:32,760
Speaker 1: ten times on the Big Lead. So it was kind

720
00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:34,800
Speaker 1: of like back in the day, it was about, hey,

721
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:36,720
Speaker 1: we got to make sure that people know who you are,

722
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:38,840
Speaker 1: and you have to be really self motivated and kind

723
00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:41,920
Speaker 1: of entrepreneurial in a way. Um. But no, I never

724
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,200
Speaker 1: saw the book coming. Even when the pandemic shot down,

725
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,760
Speaker 1: you know, like like last March for example, I really

726
00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:49,840
Speaker 1: wanted to get something out of this time, you know,

727
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:51,959
Speaker 1: because there was no games, and so I started committing

728
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,280
Speaker 1: to fitness and trying to lose weight. I just trying

729
00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:56,880
Speaker 1: to like turn a negative into a positive. And within

730
00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:58,560
Speaker 1: about two weeks of being in the bubble, I was

731
00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,920
Speaker 1: approached by an agent in the book publisher saying, hey,

732
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:02,480
Speaker 1: this could be a book. Are you interested? And I

733
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:05,400
Speaker 1: was like, yes, absolutely, of course, and um, you know

734
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:07,480
Speaker 1: it was it was daunting. You know, I had never

735
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:09,480
Speaker 1: done it before. I was pretty naive in terms of

736
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,000
Speaker 1: how the process would work. But I feel so grateful.

737
00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:14,640
Speaker 1: I mean, like I just I love always love basketball,

738
00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:16,440
Speaker 1: you know, Like I said, I started on blog spot

739
00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:18,560
Speaker 1: in two thousand and seven, and it's just you just

740
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,000
Speaker 1: keep taking one step go a time. It doesn't really matter.

741
00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:23,280
Speaker 1: You know, whatever your long goal, long term goal is,

742
00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:25,320
Speaker 1: forget it. You're never gonna get it exactly where you

743
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:27,640
Speaker 1: want it, right, So you just keep making that progress

744
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,360
Speaker 1: day after day, and eventually you get a pretty good place.

745
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:32,320
Speaker 1: That's kind of how I view it. It's where I

746
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,880
Speaker 1: had read this. Uh, some really smart guy talked about

747
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:38,720
Speaker 1: the different kinds of luck. You know, there's many different

748
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:40,320
Speaker 1: kinds of luck. People think, oh, you got lucky, you

749
00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:42,440
Speaker 1: won the lottery. Yeah, that's one kind of luck, but

750
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,760
Speaker 1: there are other kinds where if you just keep stirring

751
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,080
Speaker 1: stuff up, you know, like you like, I'm going to

752
00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:50,160
Speaker 1: write about the NBA. I'm going to start a blog

753
00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,440
Speaker 1: about draft Kevin Durant, and that stirred up interest in Boom,

754
00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:56,080
Speaker 1: you're at Blazer's Edge and then you are writing about

755
00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,320
Speaker 1: the NBA for Blazer's Edge, and s I noticed is

756
00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:01,880
Speaker 1: like you can say it's key, but like everything lined

757
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:03,600
Speaker 1: up and you have to still deliver, you know, like

758
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:07,560
Speaker 1: that's pretty cool, man. I think that's awesome. Word book

759
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,359
Speaker 1: in sixty days words a day. You know, I'm just

760
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:13,359
Speaker 1: grinding from seven pm to midnight while trying to cover

761
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:16,279
Speaker 1: from my day job, you know, NBA free Agency, NBA

762
00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:18,400
Speaker 1: Draft and all that stuff too. So it was a

763
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:20,879
Speaker 1: crazy two months stretch for me. But I will also

764
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,200
Speaker 1: saying I was pretty privileged. I had an awesome writing

765
00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:26,480
Speaker 1: education at Johns Hopkins University, which I feel like helped

766
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:28,640
Speaker 1: me stand out from the crowd because it was creative writing,

767
00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:31,239
Speaker 1: non journalism. So that got me into a situation where

768
00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:32,799
Speaker 1: maybe my voice is a little bit different than the

769
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,399
Speaker 1: typical sports writer. And then I was also lucky enough

770
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,080
Speaker 1: to be able to have a day job, Like I mentioned,

771
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:38,799
Speaker 1: so I could kind of moonlight. You know, if I

772
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,399
Speaker 1: had to try to live off my writing the first

773
00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,680
Speaker 1: couple of years, you know, I would have been homeless, right,

774
00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:45,280
Speaker 1: and that's just when net works. So wow. So JOHNS

775
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,040
Speaker 1: Hopkins huh yes, sir, Yeah, I know people know it

776
00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:49,960
Speaker 1: as a medical school, but they actually have an amazing

777
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,520
Speaker 1: creative writing program and I owe so much to them.

778
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:54,080
Speaker 1: Like it's it's been fun to hear from some of

779
00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:56,319
Speaker 1: like the old professors because you know, the Post is

780
00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:57,799
Speaker 1: in d C. So a lot of people read the

781
00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,360
Speaker 1: post back there, and you know it just for me,

782
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,040
Speaker 1: it's like a full circle moment. If you had told

783
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:03,880
Speaker 1: me in college that I'd be writing a book, I

784
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:05,600
Speaker 1: would have said, no. All these other kids here in

785
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:07,560
Speaker 1: this class, they're the ones who are gonna be writing books.

786
00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:09,560
Speaker 1: You know, you have that kind of imposter syndrome a

787
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 1: little bit, but um, you know, it feels really cool

788
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:14,319
Speaker 1: to to get it done. So would you have like

789
00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:16,400
Speaker 1: a four oh coming out of high school and stuff?

790
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:20,759
Speaker 1: Don't get me bragging here, Yeah no, uh, Vitorian, I

791
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:25,640
Speaker 1: was a valutoria my high school. Yet. Oh that's amazing, dude. Wow, congratulations,

792
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:27,840
Speaker 1: what was it a big class or or kind of

793
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,200
Speaker 1: small or what. So I think beer in high school.

794
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:32,080
Speaker 1: So Beaverton is well known as the home of Nike

795
00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:34,920
Speaker 1: International World Headquarters for night, so I grew up getting

796
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:39,200
Speaker 1: all that swooge propagana just pumped straight into my my veins. Um.

797
00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:41,239
Speaker 1: But I think at the time Beaverton might have been

798
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,440
Speaker 1: the largest public high school in the state. Um. You know,

799
00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:46,560
Speaker 1: Oregan is not the most populous state, but it's right

800
00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:47,880
Speaker 1: up there with one of the biggest high schools in

801
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:50,680
Speaker 1: the state. Yeah. So, uh, you know, let me dive

802
00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:52,399
Speaker 1: a little deeper while I've got you here. So were

803
00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:55,680
Speaker 1: your parents writers at all in any capacity? Um? No,

804
00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:57,560
Speaker 1: So my mom was a lawyer and then she became

805
00:35:57,560 --> 00:35:59,600
Speaker 1: a school teacher. Um. Actually, I think I got the

806
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:01,680
Speaker 1: books from my grandma. She was a live brand, so

807
00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:04,040
Speaker 1: she'd forced feed books to me when I was really young,

808
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:06,759
Speaker 1: so I actually dedicated it to her. Unfortunately she passed

809
00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:09,520
Speaker 1: away a few years but like you know, I give

810
00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:11,800
Speaker 1: her the credit I think for for my interest in writing,

811
00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:13,520
Speaker 1: and my mom as well. She was always you know,

812
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:16,360
Speaker 1: throwing books at me pretty much my whole childhood. And

813
00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,040
Speaker 1: then my dad's actually a computer programmer, and I think

814
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:20,799
Speaker 1: I got some of the work ethics stuff from him,

815
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:24,000
Speaker 1: some of the grinder aspect, because you know, the computer programmers,

816
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:25,920
Speaker 1: it's like the old thing, like they got a two

817
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,600
Speaker 1: leader bottle of mountain dew and they're just like flowing

818
00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:30,680
Speaker 1: away on a keyboard into like three am. I mean,

819
00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:32,880
Speaker 1: that was his life for twenty thirty years, you know,

820
00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:35,200
Speaker 1: I mean, just doing it for Intel. So I think

821
00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:39,040
Speaker 1: there's a little bit of both my parents in this project. Hopefully. Wow. Okay,

822
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:42,000
Speaker 1: so now I'm understanding why Ben it's such a smart guy.

823
00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:44,399
Speaker 1: It all is starting to add up. I mean, wow,

824
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:46,440
Speaker 1: what a what a life you've given lived? Been all right,

825
00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:49,279
Speaker 1: let's quickly go to the Eastern Conference. One more in

826
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:53,040
Speaker 1: the West. Damian Lillard in Portland recently, Um, you know,

827
00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:56,360
Speaker 1: Chris Haynes had a piece, and I mean, you know

828
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:58,560
Speaker 1: you you've covered a lot of NBA free agency and

829
00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:00,960
Speaker 1: every year for like the last decade, there's been a

830
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:04,840
Speaker 1: huge name changing teams unhappy. That's what's driven the cycle.

831
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,239
Speaker 1: And all of a sudden, Bradley Beal looks like he's

832
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:11,799
Speaker 1: staying in Washington, Um, Karl Anthony Towns. Things have turned

833
00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:15,560
Speaker 1: around a little bit in Minnesota. I just wonder, given

834
00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:18,319
Speaker 1: what's going on in Portland, it looks like maybe a

835
00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:21,919
Speaker 1: tear down in some capacity is on the horizon. Any

836
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,680
Speaker 1: chance Damian Lillard, who has been steadfast about not wanting

837
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:28,680
Speaker 1: to join forces and stay in Portland, any chance that

838
00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:31,920
Speaker 1: he could be on the move from the Blazers. I'm

839
00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:33,400
Speaker 1: not sure I see it for Lily. Let me get

840
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:34,520
Speaker 1: into that in a second. I want to make a

841
00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:36,520
Speaker 1: big picture point here though, with the free agency, because

842
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:39,040
Speaker 1: you're right, there's a real drought here right now in

843
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:43,120
Speaker 1: potential disgruntled stars who want to move, and it's pandemic related.

844
00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:46,160
Speaker 1: You saw a number of big names resigned contract extension

845
00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:49,319
Speaker 1: to talk about Lebron be honest, Anthony Davis. The list

846
00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:52,120
Speaker 1: goes on. Those guys wanted to lock up their money early,

847
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,279
Speaker 1: no matter what happens here in terms of losses and

848
00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:58,279
Speaker 1: finances whatever. The stars wanted to lock in and say

849
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:01,040
Speaker 1: I want my financial certainty no matter what. Right. So

850
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,120
Speaker 1: that is naturally going to create a situation where you

851
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,840
Speaker 1: just have fewer stars available. That's driven up the price

852
00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:08,400
Speaker 1: for guys like James Harden and Drew holiday Um in

853
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:10,319
Speaker 1: some of these previous deals. But it's gonna carry over

854
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,560
Speaker 1: into this summer too, where it's gonna be hard to

855
00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:15,400
Speaker 1: find big time talent. Right now, here's the thing with Lillard.

856
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:17,600
Speaker 1: I mean, everybody knows he's been super duper loyal to

857
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:20,239
Speaker 1: Portland the whole way. I think he's just come into

858
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,080
Speaker 1: a crossroads where it's like we've been trying it with

859
00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,920
Speaker 1: Terry Stott's and the same group and CJ. Mccollumn for

860
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,880
Speaker 1: a while. Um, there was one run to the Western

861
00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:31,040
Speaker 1: Conference finals, but how likely is that here of the

862
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:33,960
Speaker 1: next couple of years to repeat that luck. We need

863
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:35,920
Speaker 1: a little bit more investment. It might be time to

864
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,120
Speaker 1: go for a little bit more. And it's really hard

865
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:39,880
Speaker 1: for a small market team like Portland to keep up

866
00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:41,200
Speaker 1: with the Jones, is right, Like if they want to

867
00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:43,799
Speaker 1: go trade for a Bradley bal what's that cost them,

868
00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:46,520
Speaker 1: you know, four or five first round picks. You're kind

869
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:49,000
Speaker 1: of mortgaging your future. So there's a conflict there between

870
00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:52,000
Speaker 1: what's best for the superstar and what's best for the organization,

871
00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:54,000
Speaker 1: and they're gonna have to sort that out. I think

872
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,439
Speaker 1: it's more grumbling than anything. I mean, ultimately, he's living

873
00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,040
Speaker 1: a great life up there. He's got a contract that's

874
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,520
Speaker 1: about to pay him fifty million. He's got a Toyota

875
00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:03,120
Speaker 1: dealership in Portland's you know, he's got the rap career.

876
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,600
Speaker 1: You know, he's the cover of every media guy at

877
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:07,759
Speaker 1: every Jersey. I mean, I think he really likes being

878
00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:09,839
Speaker 1: the big fish in a small pond, so I would

879
00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:11,520
Speaker 1: be surprised if he moved on. I think this is

880
00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:14,280
Speaker 1: more about, like, hey, I want to see more urgency

881
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,160
Speaker 1: from the ownership group in the front office. And keep

882
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:20,480
Speaker 1: in mind too, the owner is the sister of the

883
00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:23,360
Speaker 1: former owner who passed away, you know, pretty abruptly. Paul Allen,

884
00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,760
Speaker 1: like he was the Microsoft billionaire, So his sister's basketball

885
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,200
Speaker 1: is not her passion, right, She just inherited this team

886
00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,400
Speaker 1: and with along with the rest of his estate. So

887
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:33,959
Speaker 1: there is some question like will she eventually sell the team?

888
00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:35,480
Speaker 1: How long is she going to be committed to it?

889
00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:38,279
Speaker 1: You know, when you're Paul Allen, you know he did

890
00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:41,480
Speaker 1: not care what about the luxury tax. He'd be spending

891
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:43,439
Speaker 1: millions and millions because he was one of the richest

892
00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:45,319
Speaker 1: gun in the world. Now your sister comes in and

893
00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:47,239
Speaker 1: it's like, well, if we're only making the first round

894
00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:48,920
Speaker 1: of the playoffs, Like are we still wanting to spend

895
00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:50,440
Speaker 1: this big money. I think that becomes a little bit

896
00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:53,160
Speaker 1: of a question too. So Poland has some stuff to

897
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:54,520
Speaker 1: to sort out. But I'll tell you this, I think

898
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:56,359
Speaker 1: Damian Lillard is gonna be the last guy's standing there.

899
00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:58,879
Speaker 1: You know, they'll trade everybody else before they trade him,

900
00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,440
Speaker 1: you know, So maybe they' out of package McCollum and

901
00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:06,319
Speaker 1: Nerk or whoever they can in exchange for some some

902
00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:08,920
Speaker 1: star in some capacity, I mean Karl Anthony. Towns will

903
00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:11,319
Speaker 1: be good fit. I think they're with Lillard, but chance

904
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:13,080
Speaker 1: of getting him or slim right, Yeah, I would just

905
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,040
Speaker 1: say it's time for a shake up, probably for them.

906
00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:17,640
Speaker 1: I think for Minnesota, their decision on Towns could come

907
00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:19,840
Speaker 1: down to where their pick lands. Right, Like, if you

908
00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:21,759
Speaker 1: get the number one or number two pick this year,

909
00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:24,560
Speaker 1: or even number three pick, you could have Mobile that's

910
00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:28,000
Speaker 1: a potential Towns replacement, you know, from USC, or you

911
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:30,800
Speaker 1: could go grab Jalen Sells haven't be your new franchise

912
00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:33,040
Speaker 1: point guard, and now you go forward with Suggs and

913
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:35,520
Speaker 1: Edwards as your backcourt and you just kind of move forward,

914
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:37,960
Speaker 1: right if you don't keep your pick, and they could

915
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:39,480
Speaker 1: have to send their pick to Golden State if it

916
00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:41,759
Speaker 1: lands outside the top three. Right, if you don't get

917
00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:43,800
Speaker 1: your pick, you better keep Carl Towns, because then what

918
00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:46,040
Speaker 1: are you selling your fan base? Right? Like, so, I

919
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:48,120
Speaker 1: think that some of their decision making process is going

920
00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:51,520
Speaker 1: to rely upon um where their pick lands. But I

921
00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:54,439
Speaker 1: also think like they really wanted to work with Cat there.

922
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:56,719
Speaker 1: It was personal last year just knowing some of their

923
00:40:56,719 --> 00:40:59,680
Speaker 1: front off executives pretty well. I mean, when they tried

924
00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:02,439
Speaker 1: so hard to help Cat's mom when she was going

925
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:06,080
Speaker 1: through the COVID situation, the whole organization felt the weight

926
00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,480
Speaker 1: of her death, and so they want to stand by

927
00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:10,920
Speaker 1: him as long as possible, as closely as possible. It's

928
00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:14,239
Speaker 1: just a unique situation emotionally, right, And um, I think

929
00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:16,319
Speaker 1: for that reason it's probably best to just chill on

930
00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:18,520
Speaker 1: the Cat talk. But you know that draft pick is

931
00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:21,080
Speaker 1: going to be a wild card certainly. All right, we'll

932
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:23,640
Speaker 1: wrap up with this one, ben Um in the East.

933
00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:26,640
Speaker 1: You know, the Bucks beat the Nets and the Books

934
00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:30,640
Speaker 1: again it's regular season. Who knows the Nets really tried

935
00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:32,560
Speaker 1: hard in that game, though Durant played I think forty

936
00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:37,520
Speaker 1: minutes Kyriet nine. I get the I get the vibe

937
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:42,040
Speaker 1: here that the Bucks perhaps are better as underdogs. The

938
00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:44,440
Speaker 1: last two years they've been, you know, the number one seed,

939
00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:47,560
Speaker 1: the favorites, and they've kind of collapsed. This year, they're

940
00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:50,360
Speaker 1: the underdogs. Everybody's talking nets, everybody's talking six ers. Is

941
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:53,360
Speaker 1: this the year the Bucks breakthrough? You're right on the money,

942
00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:55,680
Speaker 1: And there's a big theme in my book. Um, they

943
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:57,759
Speaker 1: did not handle the pressure of being favorites well at

944
00:41:57,760 --> 00:41:59,520
Speaker 1: all in the bubble. I mean, it really got to them,

945
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:02,080
Speaker 1: especially of Joanna's He was just wearing the burden of

946
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:04,960
Speaker 1: that on his shoulders. He's so much better cast as

947
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,160
Speaker 1: the underdog because that's who he was his entire life,

948
00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:10,440
Speaker 1: going back to his childhood. Increase right, So, um, I

949
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:13,319
Speaker 1: think they're gonna have an issue matching up once Harden's back.

950
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:15,680
Speaker 1: So I would favor Brooklyn in that series. But I'd

951
00:42:15,680 --> 00:42:18,480
Speaker 1: say this, Brooklyn Milwaukee is the number one series I

952
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:20,920
Speaker 1: want to see of any series in the entire postseason,

953
00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:24,239
Speaker 1: because you've got kd this quote unquote ring Chaser, big

954
00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:27,600
Speaker 1: market guy versus Janice, the loyal guy. You've got Katie,

955
00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:31,040
Speaker 1: the smoothest shooting forward ever probably in the history of

956
00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:33,319
Speaker 1: the sport, versus the honest who's trying to work on

957
00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:35,799
Speaker 1: his shop and he's a much more physical player. Um,

958
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:38,239
Speaker 1: you've got teams that are you know, you've got the

959
00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:41,480
Speaker 1: glitz of Brooklyn and and New York versus the kind

960
00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:45,640
Speaker 1: of the Schlitz up there in the Milwaukee. Right. Oh wow,

961
00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:47,840
Speaker 1: what a rough It's almost like you've planned this the

962
00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:51,000
Speaker 1: Schlitz from Milwaukee. And look, I'll be honest, I use

963
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:53,120
Speaker 1: that one before, but it's glitz versus Schlitz. I mean,

964
00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:55,480
Speaker 1: that's what we're talking about. A very natural story, right,

965
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:58,439
Speaker 1: big market, small market and so um, and they're they're

966
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:00,840
Speaker 1: playing styles are just so different. And in what the coaches,

967
00:43:01,239 --> 00:43:03,640
Speaker 1: You've got Coach Bud hot Seat, he's got to get

968
00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:05,640
Speaker 1: it done. They've got to make a deep postseason run.

969
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:09,360
Speaker 1: Steve Nash, rookie coach. First couple of months, he was

970
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:11,879
Speaker 1: shaky in late game situations in terms of how he's

971
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,480
Speaker 1: drawn stuff up, where does the ball go to and

972
00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:17,160
Speaker 1: those kinds of matchups, has never played the postseason matchups

973
00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:19,880
Speaker 1: games before. And they really don't have a great defensive

974
00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:21,640
Speaker 1: answer for Janice. I mean, they're gonna have to figure

975
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:23,960
Speaker 1: something out there. So um, I just think it's a

976
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,640
Speaker 1: fascinating matchup. Milwaukee is gonna have a real shot. I

977
00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:28,040
Speaker 1: think three teams and they used to have a shot

978
00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:31,000
Speaker 1: to win the whole conference. But I'm taking Brooklyn based

979
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:33,040
Speaker 1: on the star power. But they need Harden back for sure.

980
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:35,480
Speaker 1: I mean, he's been awesome this year and without him,

981
00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:38,120
Speaker 1: they just look different. I can't wait to see how

982
00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:40,839
Speaker 1: Kyrie handles a post if they're down two to one

983
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:44,680
Speaker 1: and he's only attempting eighteen shots or something. I I

984
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:47,440
Speaker 1: you just know and employ it feels like an implosion

985
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:50,239
Speaker 1: is near for Kyrie Irving, especially when Harden gets back. Well, See,

986
00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:52,960
Speaker 1: the thing is their chemistry this year has been amazing,

987
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:55,080
Speaker 1: which was the biggest surprise of all of it. Right,

988
00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:56,759
Speaker 1: Like when the guys have been on the court, they've

989
00:43:56,760 --> 00:43:59,320
Speaker 1: played so well together, but they don't have the camaraderie

990
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:01,160
Speaker 1: in the cokee you because they haven't been able to

991
00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:03,920
Speaker 1: all be healthy. So those kinds of questions you're describing,

992
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:06,439
Speaker 1: it's gonna be straight in the frying pan. Right. It's like, Hey,

993
00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:08,880
Speaker 1: game three in a series, Harden has been back for

994
00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:11,239
Speaker 1: a week. You know, Milwaukee is like, you know, they're

995
00:44:11,239 --> 00:44:13,120
Speaker 1: they're finding a way to slow Katie down. So how

996
00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:16,160
Speaker 1: are we going to respond? And the answers are Hardened

997
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:18,440
Speaker 1: or irving, right, Well, you can't be both. So who's

998
00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,960
Speaker 1: gonna be able to step up? It's it's gonna be juicy.

999
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:23,480
Speaker 1: And the other thing too about Brooklyn. Everyone is going

1000
00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:25,520
Speaker 1: to be rooting for them to fail as soon as

1001
00:44:25,560 --> 00:44:28,480
Speaker 1: these playoffs hit. They're going to be that team. How

1002
00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:30,640
Speaker 1: do they handle that? You know, Katie always has the

1003
00:44:30,719 --> 00:44:33,040
Speaker 1: chip on his shoulder, goes back at Michael Rappaport on

1004
00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:36,799
Speaker 1: social media, always engaged that kind of stuff. Hardened, I mean,

1005
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,400
Speaker 1: adversity in the playoffs has always been kind of his

1006
00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:42,120
Speaker 1: achilling seal as well. And Kyrie, you know we saw

1007
00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:44,680
Speaker 1: in Boston he was trying to guard be honest. I

1008
00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:47,520
Speaker 1: mean it was a disaster his decision making in that series, right,

1009
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:49,960
Speaker 1: And that's the last time he's really faced postseason pressures.

1010
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,399
Speaker 1: So they're the team that I'm going to watch more

1011
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:54,400
Speaker 1: closely than any team in the entire league going in

1012
00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:59,040
Speaker 1: his playoffs. And Kyrie got there before Nash, right yep,

1013
00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:03,120
Speaker 1: and for Durant before Hardened, so he can I wonder

1014
00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:05,480
Speaker 1: if he feels like, hey, I started this thing, this

1015
00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:08,400
Speaker 1: is my team again getting in Kyrie said, is very difficult.

1016
00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:11,160
Speaker 1: But anyway, Ben, we'll call that point real quick. I

1017
00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:12,840
Speaker 1: mean they used to call it seven eleven. That was

1018
00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:15,560
Speaker 1: Kyrie's nickname for him and Katie, right because their jersey numbers.

1019
00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:18,879
Speaker 1: It's like, well it's not seven eleven when you also

1020
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:20,799
Speaker 1: got harded. I mean, you gotta fit that number into

1021
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:22,440
Speaker 1: your little bix. And so I do think you know,

1022
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:24,840
Speaker 1: Kyrie viewed it as like this is me and Kevin show.

1023
00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:27,480
Speaker 1: And you know, now you got Blake Griffin, now you

1024
00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:30,279
Speaker 1: got you know, Claxton's gotta play man. It's how you

1025
00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:32,920
Speaker 1: got all these other new pieces. Brown has been great

1026
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:36,080
Speaker 1: for them. Um, you know, so it the world turn

1027
00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:38,200
Speaker 1: for Kyrie Irving, you know what I mean. It's switched

1028
00:45:38,239 --> 00:45:41,400
Speaker 1: up a little bit. Definitely fun getting excited just talking

1029
00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:43,680
Speaker 1: about this for the NBA playoffs, all right, he is.

1030
00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:46,319
Speaker 1: Ben Golliver wrote a book. You should go check it out,

1031
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:49,440
Speaker 1: bubble Ball Inside the NBA's Fight to Save a Season.

1032
00:45:49,920 --> 00:45:53,799
Speaker 1: Congrats Man. Book is out when to Yesterday Today, It's out.

1033
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:56,480
Speaker 1: It's everywhere in bookstores right now, Amazon, Barnes and Noble

1034
00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:59,719
Speaker 1: Pals wherever you get your books. Nice alright, Ben, thanks

1035
00:45:59,719 --> 00:46:02,759
Speaker 1: a lot, congratulations again and now we'll talk to you soon, alright,

1036
00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:03,280
Speaker 1: Tickerman